Texas Transportation Officials Issue Warnings Of Pokemon App Game Hazards

Austin, TX -- In years past, transportation officials have launched "Don't Drink and Drive" and "Don't Mess With Texas" campaigns alerting to the twin scourges of DWIs and littering.

With the Pokemon app game in full swing -- the one where players including grown people traverse the city looking to "catch" imaginary creatures -- there might be a need for a public service campaign aimed at safety.

"Y’all," Texas Department of Transportation begin their missive in a quintessentially Texas manner. "Please don’t make us have to create a campaign called 'Don’t Pokemon-Go and Drive.' We know you have to catch them all, but only look for Pokemon when you are not behind the wheel."

They also urge players not to stop traffic in their furious search for "pocket monsters," let alone crossing the street without paying attention. Players on the app game are, naturally, focused on their phones which only adds to the hazard.

TxDot officials added verbiage in a language that millennials and other computer-savvy, Pokemon aficiondos would understand in the form of hashtags: #‎WeShouldntHaveToTellYouThis‬ ‪#‎TalkTextCrash‬ ‪#‎PokemonGo‬.

The result of their warnings gained traction with the public, as many people sent in suggestions for other hashtag possibilities and even videos that should be made to further alert to the game's dangers.

As a result of such public input, TxDot officials said they may enhance their public awareness campaign.

"Hi Everyone, we really appreciate all the love and comments we've gotten on this post today," TxDot officials wrote on their Facebook page thread. "We've gotten a lot of suggested tag lines, pics and even some videos about not playing PokemonGo while driving we can share tomorrow as well. Maybe we will have a campaign about it after all..."

We'll reserve judgment on what we think of this game involving "catching" creatures that don't exist by heading outdoors en masse while staring at one's phones (whatever happened to bird watching?). But we'll say this: Please be careful, Pokemon fans.

Have your fun, but be alert of your surroundings.

>>> Image courtesy Texas Department of Transportation